A dangerous sorcerer named Felix Faust has come to Sunnydale, intent on raising an ancient demon to subjugate all of humankind. To succeed, he must perform a powerful curse to displace his enemies, transporting them from one time and place and exch...
"I'm sorry, what?" Xander asked Batman, who remained focused on the strange old woman staring at them, along with over twenty standing werewolves. "By which I mean – what? Did you just say I'm right, that we're in a fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood? And did you also say I'm right?"
"Easy, Xander," Buffy said, quietly silencing him as she met the old woman's gaze. She couldn't begin to imagine what the wicked sorcerer, Felix Faust, had done to them, but they were badly outnumbered. And she didn't even know by what. She had never seen creatures like these before. They were clearly werewolves but not like Oz, when he transformed. These beasts looked more like elongated versions of actual wolves, but standing on their hind legs, and able to speak.
She kept her voice low and even. "Batman? What's going on?"
Xander persisted. "You're making a joke, right? About us being trapped in a children's story with big, bad wolves?"
"I don't make jokes," Batman said. "And you won't find these wolves laughing. The Remnant curse transported everyone in Faust's circle back in time, to the little-known province of La Rue Sauvage, France."
Buffy, Xander and Willow collectively blinked at him.
"Okay, we can accept that as a working theory," Xander said. "Any other random guesses of where in the whole wide world we could be? Because there's no way you could possibly know we're –."
"Welcome to La Rue Sauvage," the old woman greeted, opening her arms wide.
The three teens stared at Batman again.
Xander waved a finger at him. "Okay, later on, you've gotta tell me how you do that."
"Research," Batman said flatly.
"Or you can tell me now, and make me feel small," Xander allowed. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets, looking nervously about the cave. "At least she's friendly. Right? And she speaks English."
"She wasn't talking to us, and she's speaking French," Batman said. "We all are."
Buffy glared at him. "What? I mean ... I'm sure I'm not. I don't know what languages you've studied, but –."
"A few. But that's irrelevant," Batman said. "The curse somehow transformed our speech to match our environment. It began when Ethan was reading from the scroll and we understood it clearly. It's the only explanation for our ease of communication."
Faust was stepping toward the woman, making a deferential bow. "You must be Avurkana," he said. "My name is Felix Faust. I read of your attempt, and hoped it would be successful to lead me here."
"And you've brought gifts," the woman said, eyeing Batman and the others with an evil glint.
Faust extended his arm toward them, as if displaying cattle. "Champions," he said. "And their two young acolytes. They should provide sufficient fuel, once my friend triggers their innermost fears again."
"Guess again," Batman said, hurling something dark at Faust.
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